December 2016

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20-12-13

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The ongoing struggle within the ranks of Syria’s rebels escalated this week as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) accused the newly formed Islamic Front of carrying out a raid on its bases and warehouses near the Turkish border.

In exclusive comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, a senior FSA Supreme Military Council official speaking anonymously accused the Islamic Front, a new coalition comprised of seven major Islamist rebel groups fighting in Syria, of carrying out a “complete coup” against the FSA’s Chiefs of Staff, headed by General Salim Idris.

“The FSA warehouses are now empty after they were occupied and their contents were stolen, including Salim Idris’s own office,” the FSA officer said. He claimed that Commander Abu Al-Nur of Ahrar Al-Sham led the operation.

He said that the Islamic Front raided a total of ten warehouses belonging to the Western-backed umbrella group and seized a significant arsenal of weaponry, including 2,000 AK-47 rifles, 1,000 assorted arms—including M79 Osa rocket launchers, rocket-propelled grenades, and 14.5mm heavy machine guns—in addition to more than 200 tons of ammunition. At least 100 FSA military vehicles were also taken in the attack.

He said: “After the Islamic Front leaders failed to control the FSA chiefs of staff at meetings in Istanbul last month, they are now carrying out a coup against the FSA on the ground.”

He added that “120 million US dollars in humanitarian assistance was expected to reach the Syrian people, but this was frozen due to the Islamic Front attack.”

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Photo: European Parliament (Brussels) where Guy Verhofstadt, MEP and President of ALDE Group, was pleading on a very fanatic way for weapon deliveries to the so called ‘Free Syrian Army’ and its 'rebels'.Verhofstadt who wants a NATO intervention in Syria, is a board member of the Brussels-based, Brussels-quoted Sofina holding (petroleum gas and oil platforms). The Belgian industrialist Viscount Etienne Davignon is Honorary Director of Sofina.

December 21, 2013 - U.S. blocking Iranian role in Syrian peace talks next month - Thirty countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait, have been invited to participate in the opening session of the peace conference...http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.564633

08-12-13

EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva sounds alarm on Syria while the European Union is one of the most important arms suppliers in Syria...

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Brussels, December 7, 2012

'EU aid chief sounds alarm on Syria after 1,000 days of conflict'

Syria is facing "the most disastrous humanitarian crisis in decades," a senior European Union official warned Sunday, marking 1,000 days since the armed conflict began.

"One thousand days of violence which has resulted in tens of thousands of men, women and children losing their lives, millions being displaced in the country and beyond its borders in search of safety," EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said.

"One thousand days of death, fear, hardship, deprivation and despair. One thousand days in which we are witnessing the creation of a lost generation," she said.

Syria's conflict of nearly three years has left more than 100,000 dead and forced more than 3 million refugees to flee the country, according to United Nations estimates.

Long-awaited peace talks between the Damascus government and the Syrian opposition are expected to be held in Geneva on Jan. 22.

Georgieva said her hopes are "pinned" on the conference.

"In the meantime, I continue to reiterate my plea, and that of the entire international humanitarian community, for the parties involved in this terrible conflict to facilitate humanitarian access to all those in need," she said.

04-12-13

An official source told SANA that the army units killed dozens of terrorists in a series of operations against them in the areas of al-Nabek and Yabroud, adding that terrorists Mohammad Naseef and Muhannad Ashour were identified among the dead.

The source added that the army also targeted terrorists in the areas of Douma and Harasta and the farms of Il'ab, al-Abbada and Alya, killing and injuring scores of terrorists, among them were Aref al-Hajjeh, Mohammad al-Sa'our, Hisham Kabreta and Issam Sweidan.

The army units targeted and killed many terrorists in operations in the areas of Joubar and Saqba, terrorist Mohammad al-Ma'touq was identified among the dead.

In Damascus southern countryside, the army killed a number of terrorists and destroyed their weaponry and munitions in the areas of Yalda and Daraya, among the killed terrorists were Raslan al-Biqa'e and Adnan Tayyara.

An army unit targeted and destroyed a terrorists' hideout in the city of al-Zabadani, killing scores of terrorists and destroying their weapons and ammunition, among the killed terrorists were Mohammad Amer and Ahmad Khayto.

Meanwhile, the army clashed with terrorists in the neighborhoods of al-Qaboun and Barzeh and killed scores of them.

Army eliminates terrorists, destroys their weapons in Hasaka

Army units killed scores of terrorists and destroyed their weapons and ammunition in Khrab Askar and Khirbet al-Sad villages in Hasaka countryside.

An official source told SANA that the army units killed 6 terrorists in Tal Steih in Qamishli countryside and destroyed their car which was equipped with a heavy machinegun.

22-11-13

The Dutch liberal politician and former EU Commissioner Frits Bolkestein has launched a scathing attack against Guy Verhofstadt, who leads the liberal and pro-European ALDE group in the European Parliament,

Verhofstadt and his fellow European federalist supporters, are a greater danger to the European Union than eurosceptics, Bolkestein said in a recent interview.

The liberal leader and his federalist backers are “barking at the moon” when discussing the future of the European Union, the former EU commissioner argued.

Bolkenstein concurred with earlier remarks made by Mark Verheijen, the liberal party VVD’s spokesperson on European issues, that “Europhiles like Martin Schulz or Verhofstadt are a great danger to Europe than eurosceptics or anti-Europe populists”.

Bolkestein was the first former European Commissioner to publicly back a breakup of the euro, saying in the Dutch paper Algemeen Dagblad that the Netherlands had to exit the euro as quickly as possible. “The monetary union has totally failed. The euro turned out to be a sleeping pill which made Europe doze off instead of thinking about our competitiveness,” he said.

Guy Verhofstadt dreams of a federal European superstate: “A federal EU is the only option. The EU should have its own president, foreign minister, army and prosecutor”.

Verhofstadt on Lybia: “The weak position of the EU makes me sick”

Verhofstadt on Syria: “The time for peace talks is over, we need action now. If the UN doesn’t react, then NATO should.”

Verhofstadt is since 2012 a Board Member of the Brussels-based, Brussels-quoted Sofina holding (petroleum gas and oil platforms). The Belgian industrialist Viscount Etienne Davignon, Chairman of the Bilderberg Group, is Honorary Director of Sofina.

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On 20 February 2009 the European Parliament voted in favour of the creation of Synchronised Armed Forces Europe (SAFE) as a first step towards a true European military force. SAFE will be directed by an EU directorate, with its own training standards and operational doctrine. There are also plans to create an EU “Council of Defence Ministers” and “a European statute for soldiers within the framework of Safe governing training standards, operational doctrine and freedom of operational action”.

23-06-13

The European Union and the United States are major players in the globalised world order: often they determine its course, sometimes they are adversely impacted and above all they are being profoundly transformed by its effects. But in the ten years since 2000, the foundations of American power (military force, technological excellence, economic success) have been severely shaken, as have the certainties of the European project (continuous prosperity, citizen support, the attraction of the European model).As a result, Euro-American relations can no longer be approached and practiced in the way they were for more than half a century. A high-level European reflection group comprising former Ministers and Heads of Government was brought together by Notre Europe to review the future of the Euro-American partnership. It undertook a sober examination of the changes under way in the world and their effects on the European Union and the United States. Above all, the group proposes a new approach based on renunciation of EU national and US imperial illusions that could enable the Euro-American partnership to become a springboard for a global partnership.

Guy Verhofstadt who pleads on a very fanatic way for weapon deliveries to the so called ‘Free Syrian Army’ and calls for a NATO intervention in Syria, is since 2012 a Board Member of the Brussels-based, Brussels-quoted Sofina holding (petroleum gas and oil platforms).

In 2004, Verhofstadt was suggested as a candidate to replace Romano Prodi as the next President of the European Commission. In the 2009 European Parliament election, he was elected a member of the European Parliament for the term 2009–2014. He also has been put forward as the possible candidate for replacing José Manuel Barroso as the president of the European Commission by a coalition of greens, socialists and liberals. On July 1, 2009 he was elected President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group in the European Parliament. Verhofstadt is also a member of the Club de Madrid, an organization of more than 80 former statesmen.

One of the groups participating in Sofina is EXMAR Group. This group specialises in the transport of liquefied gas and was created following its breakaway from the maritime transport company CMB in 2003. The company owns a fleet of ships that are able to transport both liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), including propane, butane and ammonia, for which it is also the world leader in the midsize segment, and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). As part of the transport of LNG, EXMAR has developed, in partnership with its American partner Excelerate Energy, a technology that makes it possible to regasify the gas on board the ships (LNG RV, Liquefied Natural Gas Regasification Vessel). More recently, EXMAR has developed an offshore activity, which also offers services for oil platforms, such as storage, handling and unloading of oil and gas products. In addition, EXMAR also designs and installs new offshore structures, such as OPTI-EX, a semi-submersible platform designed to exploit oil and gas fields in deep waters. Based on its expertise in the field of maritime fleet management, EXMAR offers technical assistance and insurance services to maritime transport companies.